I overslept today. Really overslept. So much so that I missed an 11 o’clock meeting — and a colleague called me at home to make sure I was OK. And I have no excuse. When setting my alarm last night, I set it on AM radio instead of the CD player, so I woke up “naturally” to gentle static rather than my Buddy Holly CD. Had it not been overcast, I would have woken with the sun, but as it is, I’ve been running late all day.

Our daily morning rituals are a major part of our work experience — and life. Do you wake up at the same time every day? Do you eat the same thing for breakfast? Do you read the paper? Brew coffee? Pack your lunch the night before?

And what do you do on those rare occasions on which you oversleep? Do you try to come up with an excuse?

I’ve been poking around for better alarm clock and wake-up options. For $4.50 a month, you can sign up for WakeUpCalls, an automated service that will call you at home or on your cell phone. Alarm Clocks Online has been selling classic alarm clocks online since 1996. The Soleil Sun Alarm Clock features a light that gets brighter and brighter to wake you up gradually. And Howstuffworks explains how a wind-up alarm clock works.